Self defense and the media

Posted by David Hardy · 2 March 2009 09:15 AM

Howard Nemerov has some thoughts on a recent case. Homeowner awakens to find armed intruder coming into his bedroom, shoots first. Newspaper article focuses on people saying the intruder was a nice guy, and how tragic it was.

Of course it could be pure laziness. Cookie-cutter story line for "somebody gets killed in unusual way" is (1) get next of kin or neighbors to say he was a nice guy and (2) get someone to say they're terrified to think something like this could happen to them. Fits nicely, whether the fatal event is a flaming car crash, a plunge off a bridge, a homicide, or an airline crash.

You know, the dead guy might really HAVE been a nice guy. However, the families and friends continually overlook the fact that these people are killed in OTHER people's homes, in the dead of night, WHILE ARMED.

I've notice this "talk to the relatives" media approach for many years now. No matter what the disaster, the local TV outlets find someone with a connection to it to interview. "Earthquake in Manchuria kills thousands?? Quick, find someone in the Atlanta area with a sibling living there..." Objectivity died a long time ago.

One such "relative" interview,that I saw, backfired. A relative of a dead gangbanger said he was a scumbag, liar, thief, drug dealer and rapist. It was a good thing he was dead. It made the world safer

Providence Journal (ProJo) reports story about how a 14 year old boy was accidently shot to death in providence. The victim was such a good boy, a great student, he loved his family...

Day 2:

"Victim" fell in with a bad crowd. Victim was shot by a friend while running from a gang that wanted to kill them.

Day 3:

"victim" and his homey were hanging on a street corner when they saw several people in a rival gang drive by. "Victim" and his buddy immediately drew their pistols and opened fire on passing vehicle. Vehicle sped up to avoid fire, shooters tracked the vehicle still firing, one boy tracks the vehicle until his buddies head is in between his muzzle and the car. Buddy keeps firing... Oops...

"Victim" buried.

Day 4:

Big anti-gun-rights rally called to protest government letting people have guns so they can shoot their friends heads off.

Day 5:

Mother of "victim" stands before the rally, and blames government - for not locking up problem kids, for not improving schools, for not having programs to keep these kids busy and teach them a trade. She never mentioned guns. She finishes her speech. The "rally" dissipates.

Strange they always say that about serial killers as well. Ted Bundy was nice, charming guy.

I was struck by this from wikipedia on Mengele:

Some forty years after the war, only a few of these twins could be found, many living in Israel and the United States. Strangely enough, many of them recall Mengele as a gentle, affable man who befriended them as children and gave them chocolates.

It is lazy reporting almost everybody has someone who thinks their a nice person, sometimes even their victim/survivors. Not to mention the general trend to not speak ill of the dead.

It's real simple: everyone has been taught to be afraid from a very early age. You must never say anything bad about anyone, even if that would be the truth. Never stand up for what you think is right, just go along to get along. Fortunately a growning number of people are realizing how foolish this is, and are standing up and saying "enough!" It's about time.

After some gang-banger hid a gun (illegal for him to posess) behind the stove at his girlfriend's house and some of her young family members found it and one got killed, I remember clearly the idiot neighbor on the news:

"I jus' can't buhleeve that there wuz a ghun in that hawse... thatsa christian hawse, theys christian people." Or some such nonsense. So now people are taught by so-called Christian churches that self defense is no longer a moral imperative, but it's DISDAINFUL?!?! Pathetic.

While reading the story and y'all's comments I was reminded of Col Jeff Coopers Black Box Concept:

"For those of you not in the engineering business, the famous black box works like this. You have a black box, with certain characteristics. Say, you throw a switch and it produces 1.5 VDC. What's in the box? Maybe a battery. Maybe a fusion power generator. Maybe a hamster on a treadmill running a generator. It doesn't matter. Click the switch, get 1.5 V.

So, now you have someone trying to kill you. What's inside? The Devil incarnate? The product of a broken home? Someone who forgot to take their medication? Who cares! The important point being, that unless you switch them off, they will produce your death. They are evil and produce evil results.

When it comes to personal safety, that's what is important. Not why they are so."